BUILDING CONTROL NEWSLETTER

Transcription

1 BUILDING CONTROL BUILDING NEWSLETTER CONTROL NEWSLETTER JANUARY 2009 ISSUE 7 Welcome to the January edition of the Building Control newsletter. The Building Control Team wish all our customers a Very happy New Year, and also hope that you have all had a wonderful Christmas. We hope you are enjoying our newsletters and our finding them useful. If you have picked up this newsletter in our office or have seen a copy of a colleague s, and you are interested in a regular copy then we can add your details to our mailing list. Please send your details to building.control@fdean.gov.uk Otherwise please visit and follow the links to the Building Control where our newsletter can be found online. We would also like to bring to your attention that the Building Control Department has placed a link on our front page so you can now get access to all the current Building Regulations Documents. VAT Following on from the Governments kind reduction in the rate of VAT to 15%, our fees have been adjusted to suit. Please remember to add 15% and not the old 17.5% when making your applications, as we have to refund the difference back to yourselves. A copy of the fee have been put on our website, and you all should have received a copy via Seminar Success Thanks to your support our latest Seminar by Actis Insulation was a resounding success, well over 20 people came and enjoyed an extended Seminar and some lunchtime refreshments. I would like to send out my thanks to everyone who attended and also to Actis for a very informative seminar. Following on from the Seminar, it has been agreed that The Forest of Dean Building Control are in a position to accept the use of Triso Super 10 as a stand alone product with the Trada certification, however where affordably and technically possible additional insulation should be used. Any questions about the use of Triso products please do not hesitate to contact me.

2 What s New for 2009? The coming year is going to be a tester for our industry, hopefully with the New Year will bring new projects and new construction. Following on from our last seminar it is hoped to bring your more of the same. I am in touch with both Velux and Kingspan. The next Seminar will be by Kingspan and will be held on 23 rd of January with a complimentary buffet, please see our latest flyer and register your interest with myself. Survey Report Just a reminder that over the last couple of months we have sent out over 150 copies of our survey, after receiving some of them back we have produced a report to indicate how the public see the Building Control Service. The results can be seen on our website. Please also take time to visit our web site and fill in one of our customer Surveys your views will be greatly appreciated. Any other comments would be appreciated and can be forwarded to simon.drake@fdean.gov.uk Your Questions Answered Question What happens if works have been carried out to a property without Building Regulations and can a retrospective application be made? Answer Only if works have been completed within the past 12 months can the Local Authority take court proceedings and require a Building Regulations application for works to be made and require the removal/alteration of any contravening works under Section 36 of the Building Act. However, if the works were completed after 11th November 1985, an application can be made to the Local Authority, with accompanying plans and details of the works and the appropriate fee, for a Regularisation Certificate. The Local Authority will

3 issue this certificate after examining the plans and works on site, including opening up and testing, if necessary, and carrying out any further works to enable compliance with the Building Regulations. Alternatively, both the Local Authority and any private individual can apply to the courts for an injunction requiring the removal or alteration of offending works even if the 12-month limit has been exceeded Question I understand that certain works such as works to electrical, heating systems or replacement window or doors can be self certified by the approved or registered installers and therefore I do not have to apply for building regulations? Also how do I now if my installer is qualified and registered with the appropriate trade body? Answer Yes, that is true certain work can be self certified to comply with the Building Regulations by a person or company working under one of the Government selfcertification schemes. Such as Fensa for external glazing work, Oil fired installations by Oftec registered heating engineers, Gas installations by Corgi registered heating engineers or solid fuel installations by Hetas scheme member, the person ordering the work does not have to make a Building Regulation application. If this route is chosen, the property owner does not have to make a Building Regulation application, pay the associated fee, notify the Local Authority or have the works inspected by Building Control. But the competent person has to design, install, test and self certify the work as complying with the relevant Building Regulations. They also have to provide a self-certification certificate to the customer and forward a copy or notice/certificate for the works to the various scheme administrators within 30 days of completion of the work (although sample inspections of installations may be done by the scheme administrators). The scheme administrators will then notify the relevant Local Authority, who will hold a register of Competent persons notifications for the work that has taken place in their area, details of which for a property may be disclosed as part of the Local Authority searches. It is always best to ask for written conformation that your installer is a member of one of the schemes and to contact the scheme administrator directly or their websites to check if their membership is current. Also always insist on getting copies of the relevant certification and installation paperwork and keep them safe, as you will need them when you move house or re-mortgage or you may be asked to make a Regularisation Building Regulation application.

4 Works that require Building Regulation Approval, but are carried out by Competent persons Type of Work Competent Scheme type Installation of a heat-producing gas appliance A person, or an employee of a person, who is a member of a class of persons approved in accordance with regulation 3 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 Installation of heating or hot water service A person registered by CORGI Services Limited in system connected to a heat-producing gas respect of that type of work appliance, or associated controls. Installation of (a) An oil-fired combustion appliance which has a rated heat output of 100 kilowatts or less and which is installed in a building with no more than 3 stores (excluding any basement) or in a dwelling; (b) oil storage tanks and the pipes connecting them to combustion appliances; or (c) heating and hot water service systems connected to an oil-fired combustion appliance. Installation of (a) A solid fuel burning combustion appliance which has a rated heat output of 50 kilowatts or less which is installed in a building with no more than 3 stories (excluding any basement); or (b) heating and hot water service systems connected to a solid fuel burning combustion appliance. Installation of a heating or hot water service system, or associated controls, in a dwelling. Installation of a heating, hot water service, mechanical ventilation or air conditioning system, or associated controls, in a building other than a dwelling. Installation of an air conditioning or ventilation system in an existing dwelling, An individual registered by Oil Firing Technical Association Limited, NAPIT Certification Limited or Building Engineering Services Competence Accreditation Limited in respect of that type of work A person registered by HETAS Limited, NAPIT Certification Limited or Building Engineering Services Competence Accreditation Limited in respect of that type of work. A person registered by Building Engineering Services Competence Accreditation Limited in respect of that type of work. A person registered by Building Engineering Services Competence Accreditation Limited in respect of that type of work. A person registered by CORGI Services Limited or NAPIT Certification Limited in respect of that type of

5 which does not involve work on systems work shared with other dwellings. Installation of a commercial kitchen ventilation system, which does not involve work on systems shared with parts of the building occupied separately. Installation of a lighting system or electric heating system, or associated electrical controls. Installation of fixed low or extra-low voltage electrical installations. Installation of fixed low or extra-low voltage electrical installations as a necessary adjunct to or arising out of other work being carried out by the registered person. A person registered by CORGI Services Limited in respect of that type of work. A person registered by The Electrical Contractors Association Limited in respect of that type of work. A person registered by BRE Certification Limited, British Standards Institution, ELECSA Limited, NICEIC Group Limited or NAPIT Certification Limited in respect of that type of work. Person registered by CORGI Services Limited, ELECSA Limited, NAPIT Certification Limited, NICEIC Group Limited or Oil Firing Technical Association Limited in respect of that type of electrical work Installation, as a replacement, of a window, A person registered under the Fenestration Selfroof light, roof window or door (being a door Assessment Scheme by Fensa Ltd, or by CERTASS which together with its frame has more than Limited or the British Standards Institution in respect 50 per cent of its internal face area glazed) in of that type of work. an existing building. Installation of a sanitary convenience, washing facility or bathroom in a dwelling, which does not involve work on shared or underground drainage. A person registered by CORGI Services Limited or NAPIT Certification Limited in respect of that type of work Our Guidance Documents The following three documents have been produced by the Forest of Dean District Council s Building Control Department to help you complete your Building Regulations application. Or to simply give guidance to a house holder when carrying out a building project. Please feel free to contact us for your copy on If you have any building regulation related questions please let us know